Freezing
by Soniclover0028
Summary: Christmas Two-shot. When April gets a phone call in the middle of the night, she finds out just how cold a cold-blooded being can get. While helping the guys warm up, she learns how long it's been since the turtles have had Christmas. April's determined to give the turtles the best Christmas ever, but that's kind of hard with Casey Jones tripping her up every step of the way.
1. Part 1

_Freezing_

Part 1

By: Soniclover28

* * *

><p><em>Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-da-doo-doo! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-da-doo-doo! <em>

A pril bolted upright in her bed, wide-eyed, and now wide awake. She calmed herself when she recognized the sound in her room to be her T-phone, and mentally cursed at the ringtone for being so loud. Rubbing her eye, she reached over and picked up the shell-shaped phone and looked at the screen to see who was calling her.

Leo? Since when did Leonardo call her? Especially at… April glanced at her clock.

'_Four in the morning?!' _April thought, _'This had better be important…'_

She answered the cell phone and put it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"_H-hey, Ap-p-pril._"

April blinked in confusion. The turtle on the other side of the line sounded as if his entire form were shaking.

"Leo, what's wrong?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"_Oh, n-nothing really. Just-t-t a bit ch-chilly down here. Ah, um… D-Don-n-nie told me t-to call-l y-you and-d ask-k-k if y-you c-could, um-m, bring ov-ver som-me blank-kets… O-Or jack-ckets, mayb-be…?_" The turtle chattered. Even through the tremors in his voice, the turtle's speech was slow and slurred, as if it were hard to talk.

"Of course, Leo! Why didn't you call me sooner? I'll be right there! Should I call Casey so he can help?"

A distant _'no!'_ was heard on the other line, but Leonardo continued over the voice. "_Th-that'd-d b-be great-t. Th-thank-ks Ap-pril_…"

"No problem. Stay warm until I get there."

"_W-Will d-do._"

* * *

><p>April, with a giant box in hand, went through the turnstiles of the lair, and called into the abandoned subway to make her presence known. With a shudder inside of her thick winter coat, she realized that the lair was a lot colder than it should've been, and noted that with each breath she exhaled, swirls of frost accompanied it. She placed her box on the floor, and, now that she could see over the thing, realized that all four turtles were in the pit.<p>

A bit startled that they didn't greet her when they entered, she blinked a bit awkwardly as they slowly turned their heads to look at her.

They stayed silent until Splinter entered the room, relieving some of the tension for April.

"April—welcome, my student," He greeted, and April noticed that he was bundled up in about three kimonos and socks on his feet.

In fact—April observed—the turtles were bundled up as well. They were wrapped up in about two blankets each, though they were thin and a couple of them had a few rips in them.

"Hi, Master Splinter. Um… I see that you guys have been… um… cold," She said for lack of a better word.

"Indeed," Splinter's tone lowered as he glanced at his sons, who were still staring silently at April. "The heating system has chosen to break at the worst possible time. Donatello attempted fixing it, but the cold was too much," He explained. April was about to ask him to elaborate, when she was unintentionally interrupted.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" A new voice sounded in the room. Casey came in with coats and blankets piled up in his arms, and set them on top of April's box before looking around at the family of mutants. "Not the heat, I see," He chuckled a bit bashfully, sliding his hood off of his head.

"Hello, Casey. Thank you for coming at such a late hour—both of you," Splinter said, each word coming out with a plume of frost.

"No problem, Splinter. We're happy to help," Casey replied. "So…" He hesitated after glancing at the blank-faced turtles, "What's wrong with them?"

He received an elbow in the gut.

"_Oof_! It was just a question," Casey groaned, giving a glance to April, who had shoved her hands back in her pockets to warm them up.

" It is alright, April. He has a reason to be concerned," Splinter said, casting a look to his sons again. They looked at him with something that resembled pleading and hurt. "It is far too cold for them down here. Quickly; we must help them warm up."

"Right," Casey and April replied, and grabbed a few coats and blankets from their new stash of winter clothing.

April went to Donatello first with a large brown coat—one big enough to wrap around his shell—and helped his stiff limbs snake through the sleeves of the coat. His skin felt like ice, and his eyes followed her movements blankly, as if he couldn't really process what she was doing. April couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt for her cold-blooded friends. Next, she grabbed a pair of blue earmuffs and slipped them onto his head, followed by stuffing his three-fingered hands into a pair of bulky gloves. April glanced awkwardly to the pair of pants she had picked for Donnie, but, fortunately, Splinter offered to take that job.

With that, April moved on to Michelangelo. His baby blue eyes stared up at her, clouded with something that April didn't know existed in him. He quickly dressed him up, too, leaving the pants to Splinter.

She glanced over at Casey to see how he was doing, and immediately felt enraged at what she saw.

Raphael was clothed in sorely pink and purple.

"_Casey_!"April seethed, making the teenager jump.

"What? I'm just doing what you told me to," Casey smirked back at her.

"It is alright, April," Splinter cut in before the two could argue. "Raphael will punish him enough when his senses return."

This made Casey look at Raphael in alarm and panic.

"Speaking of which, Master Splinter," April started, picking out a pair of gloves to add to Michelangelo's outfit. "Not to be rude, but… why are they…? Y'know…"

"It is simply their instincts. Donatello informed me before he went into his current state that when turtles of their kind are found in cold temperatures, their entire body slows itself. Amazing enough, their heartbeat is even slowed to an alarming rate, yet they get along fine. Their lungs are also slowed drastically, and they can survive for days without the slightest amount of food," Splinter explained, grabbing the blankets that April and Casey had brought, and proceeded to wrap all four of his sons into a tight cocoon—only their head was visible in the mass of blankets on them.

"So, they're, like, asleep, but not…" Casey summarized to himself. "Cool."

"Donatello also informed me that turtles of their kind remain underneath a frozen pond until spring, but the ice down here does not melt until a few weeks after the actual season of spring starts. At least, not without our heating system," Splinter explained, all the while meeting the blank stares of his children. "That is why I am worried. They need plenty of moisture in their bodies, yet they cannot have it. They need to be warmed up enough to where Donatello can at least fix the heating system. He was halfway finished before he… froze up."

A shudder suddenly went through Leonardo, and the turtle gave a grunt at the cold surrounding him. Then, he went silent and still as a statue again, staring off into space.

Splinter gave a sigh of relief. "They are warming up. Thank goodness." He turned to the two teenagers at his side. "April, Casey, thank you for assisting us in our time of need. We are very grateful for your help. You should return home; I would invite you to stay overnight… but I highly doubt you would want to spend the night in this cold," Splinter said with a soft smile.

"Hai, sensei," April nodded in acknowledgement, "But I'm staying here to help. I'll go home and get a couple heaters my dad has in storage, and then I'll stay down here in case you need anything else."

"April, I cannot ask you to-"

"Sorry, Master Splinter, but you don't even have to ask for me to make this decision. I'll be fine. You should go rest, and I'll be back in about fifteen minutes," April winked, and Splinter dipped his head in gratitude.

"I wish I could stay, too, but if my dad realizes I'm not there in the morning, he's gonna have a cow."

"It is alright, Casey. Go home, to your family; April has it under control," Splinter told him, nodding his thanks to him as well.

Both teens smiled at him and quickly left the lair.

* * *

><p>April set the last mug of hot cocoa on the metal tray she had before coming back into the living room of the lair, which had two not-very-useful heaters working. She observed her mutant friends for a moment—both curiously and sympathetically.<p>

Raphael and Donatello seemed to be coming along well, for they were only giving involuntary shudders every so often, and their teeth had stopped chattering for the most part. Leonardo was only slightly worse; he was still a little shaky and his voice was still a tremble. Michelangelo… wasn't doing too great.

T he freckled turtle's face was still an olive-grey, he wasn't even hardly shivering—a bad sign, April had learned; when someone trembles or shudders, they're reacting to the heat around them—and his mind was still terribly slow. It had taken him an eternity to figure out that April was actually in the lair, and even longer to realize he was bundled up in clothes he didn't remember owning.

April passed around the mugs of cocoa, warning the turtles that the liquid was piping hot and retreated back to the kitchen to clean up the small mess she'd made.

While she was gone, Raphael was left holding two cups of hot chocolate—one was his, and one was his slow-working brother's.

"Here, Mike… This'll help ya' w-warm up," Raphael coaxed, gently nudging the mug into his little brother's hand. The turtle robotically held it, looking down at it blankly, his face devoid of any emotion.

It kind of creeped Raphael out; he briefly wondered if that was what he had looked like twenty minutes ago. He gingerly took a sip of his cocoa, instantly recognizing it as his little brother's special recipe; April must've borrowed it.

"Th-thanks for all you help, April… We r-really appreciate it," Donatello said after noticing the red-head come back into the room.

"No problem," She smiled, and sat down on the couch beside the svelte turtle.

D onnie suddenly grew a bit warmer.

Leonardo simply chuckled and took another sip of his hot cocoa.

April glanced over at the baby blue-eyed turtle in the room, casting him a worried look.

Donatello, who had caught this, spoke up again. "I'm sure he'll be fine, April. I'll get back on fixing the heat after I finish my hot chocolate. 'S great, by the way," He said.

"Thanks," April smiled, "It's Mikey's recipe."

Upon hearing his name, the freckled turtle slowly lifted his gaze from his still-full mug. His foggy blue eyes glimmered for a moment, as if the gears in his mind were turning, and he glanced back down to his mug.

Michelangelo gingerly took a tentative sip.

Gradually, his entire body was wracked by a heavy shudder, and he would've dropped his mug, had Raphael not gently pried it from his hands and place both his and his brother's on the floor.

"C-c-cold-d-d…" He sputtered, curling up on himself, and turning his tired gaze to Raphael.

"A bit chilly down here, ya' think?" Raphael smiled softly at his little brother, and rubbed the back of his sibling's shell for a bit, waiting patiently for the freckled turtle's trembling to lessen.

" C-could y-you h-hand-d m-me my c-c-cocoa…?" Mikey asked, nodding his head towards the floor. Raphael did as asked and watched as his brother sipped the hot liquid.

" My sons. I see you are feeling better." Everyone turned their heads to see Master Splinter coming out of his dojo.

"Hai, sensei," The four brother's replied, dipping their heads in respect.

"Donatello," Splinter addressed his techno-talented son, "I believe you have a heater to repair."

"Hai, sensei," Donatello nodded, uncovering himself, but being careful to pull his fur coat a bit tighter around him. He left the room in search of his toolbox.

"Wh-what-t h-hap-p-pened t-to… Wh-why am I…?" Mikey glanced at himself, "…w-wearing a Ch-Christmas sweat-ter…?"

"It got too cold for you guys down here, and you went into a really weird… _phase_. It's because you're cold-blooded, but Splinter, Casey and I took care of it," April explained softly to the trembling turtle.

"A-ah… Ok-kay. Th-thank-ks, April," Michelangelo replied, and took another sip out of his mug. He smirked as he watched April yawn. "T-tired?"

"Well, considering that it's five-thirty… yeah, a little bit," She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"S'okay… 'm t-tired, too," Michelangelo chuckled lightly.

I t was then that April noticed the way Michelangelo's eyes had started to droop, and she giggled. In fact, Raphael looked a little drowsy, too. She glanced over at Leonardo, only to find that he'd already fallen asleep; he _had_ been quieter than usual.

"April," Splinter addressed the red-head. "I cannot ask you to stay any longer. Go home. Rest. I cannot thank you enough for all of your help," The rat told her softly.

"Anytime, sensei," April smiled. She stood up, downing the rest of her hot chocolate and stretching her cold limbs. "You guys can keep the coats and stuff; no one wears them anymore on the surface. Maybe I can buy you all new ones for Christmas."

Michelangelo blinked. "S-s-sensei," He turned his head to his father, "When's the last-t t-time we had Ch-christmas?"

Splinter stroked the hair that hang from his chin in thought. "I believe it was about seven years ago, if I am not mistaken."

"_What?_" April exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "You do know that Christmas comes around _every_ year, right?"

"I am well aware of that," Splinter gave a smile that was almost bashful. "But something always seems to come up and take away from the celebration."

"Y-yeah, I remember; one year R-raph wound up with the f-f-flu," Mikey piped.

"And after that you got a concussion," Raphael snapped.

"S-s-s'not my f-f-fault the tunnels were s-slick," Mikey muttered, taking another sip out of his mug.

"And, if I remember correctly, the year after that our lair flooded and we had to move for a short time."

April stared at the family in what looked to be pity.

"You guys—," she said, gesturing to the entire family of mutants, "—are_ so_ getting Christmas this year."


	2. Part 2

**Me:** When you see the authors note, be prepared to play the song _"We Are Ninjas"_ by Pentatonix.;)

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><p><em>Freezing<em>

Part 2

By: Soniclover28

* * *

><p>"Remind me why we're doing this, again," Casey whined, plucking the umpteenth strip of tape out of his hair.<p>

"Because the guys haven't had Christmas in forever, that's why," April snapped, snatching the tape from Casey and taping the last of the wrapping paper to the brand new book she'd bought. She smacked a sticker on the gift, and, using an ink pen, wrote the letters M-I-K-E-Y on the sticker.

"Didn't you say something comes up every year that stops Christmas? Wonder if that'll happen again this year," Casey pondered, sloppily wrapping another box that had a wrestling logo on the front.

April rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Casey replied, his dark brown eyes tearing from the complicated form of wrapping he was attempting. "I mean, what if Mikey burns the lair down trying to make Christmas dinner, or somethin'?"

"_Casey_!" April snapped, glaring at the boy.

"What? Just sayin'."

"No, I'm not talking about that—don't think I forgot it, but—you're doing a horrible job at wrapping. What is _that?_" April gestured to the mass of Christmas wrapping paper that currently made the box she'd bought look like a sphere.

"Um… Misdirection…?" Casey chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

April just shook her head and moved on to the next gift.

"Wow, Red, you sure bought 'em a lot of stuff," Casey commented, glancing at the five different piles of goodies that were currently inhabiting April's living room.

"Most of its clothes; they're freezing down there. I want them to stay warm."

Casey smirked. "What about me? I wanna stay warm, too," He said, raising his eyebrows slyly.

"Dream on, Jones," April said, rolling her eyes. "Now hand me the tape."

* * *

><p>Raphael poked his head into the kitchen, breathing deeply through his nose, and inviting the delicious smell of Christmas dinner into his senses.<p>

"Wow, Mikey, it smells good in here," He commented.

"Thanks," Mikey mumbled, not even tearing his eyes from the bubbling and sizzling pots on the stove as he peeked into each one. "Oh, where did I put the… Ah, here it is!"

Raphael chuckled; he hadn't seen his little brother so busily focused in a long time.

'_Maybe we should have him make Christmas Dinner more often,'_ he thought.

"Need some help?" The emerald-eyed turtle offered, walking deeper into the kitchen.

At this, Mikey's head snapped up. Maybe it was the thought of Raphael actually _offering_ to help him. Or, maybe it was that the _thought_ of help was totally throwing Mikey off of his game.

"_What?_ No!"

The latter seemed to be the logical reason.

"I-I mean, thanks for offering, but you're not exactly a master chef in the kitchen, Raph," Mikey smirked, turning back to his pots and pans.

"Oh, and you are?" The red-banded turtle snorted.

Mikey glanced at him with a sly smile on his freckled face.

"Least I don't impale oranges with my sai."

"Hey, that was only because you wouldn't get up and make breakfast!" Raphael snapped, though the playfulness in his eyes let Mikey continue.

"I was sick!"

"Yeah, but it was your own fault, ding-dong!" Raphael smiled.

Mikey laughed.

_Man_, Raphael loved it when Mikey laughed.

"I'm glad it's Christmas," Mikey suddenly commented, "It's when you're in your best mood—and everybody else, actually."

"Can't argue with that, little brother," Raph chuckled. "Seriously, though, you're slaving away in here; what do you need me to do?"

Mikey hummed in thought as he checked on the turkey in the oven. He glanced at Raph and suddenly giggled.

"You can help with Christmas decorations; you already started on yourself. Maybe you can add a Santa hat," Mikey said, stirring something in a pot on the stove.

When Raphael got the obvious insult at his choice in bandanna color, he rolled his eyes and replied, "Har-dee-har, Mike."

"More like 'ho-ho-ho'."

"Shut up."

With that, Raphael left the kitchen smiling in search of Leo and Donnie to help them with the Christmas decorations.

* * *

><p>"Almost got it…" Donnie muttered, brushing the ball of his Santa hat out of his face for the umpteenth time. After a few seconds, the lights flickered, and flashed to life. "Yes!" The purple-clad turtle smiled, showing off the gap in his teeth.<p>

He watched in triumph as the lights hanging above the turnstiles twinkled and flashed merrily, and Donnie couldn't help but smirk to himself.

"Nice job, Donnie," Leo commented as he walked by with a box of Christmas decorations.

"Thanks," Donatello replied, and then glanced at his own box that consisted of nothing but Christmas lights. "Now I only have about five-hundred more lights to put up…"

"Maybe we can help with that."

Donnie looked up from his box to see April and Casey walking through the turnstiles, loaded with Christmas presents. April wore a Santa hat on her head, and a red coat that was obviously meant to compliment Santa Claus'.

"Hey, guys! Nice outfit, April," Donnie greeted, and offered to take some of the presents off of their hands. He led them to the mutant family's Christmas tree, and placed them against the wall of the sewer.

April's breath got caught in her throat.

Instead of a real tree—or even a store-bought one—there was a painting of a large pine tree on the wall. Glued to the wall were what April supposed were the decorations—bottle caps, red birthday streamers, and the occasional string of popcorn. Christmas lights were nailed to the wall to illuminate the tree, and the topper of the tree was a simple, five-pointed star that had yellow and white Christmas lights fed through it.

"Donnie—this is—_wow_…" April gaped, carefully placing the gifts down against the wall, but never taking her eyes off of the work of art.

"I know. Mikey did it a few nights ago; the little guy fell asleep with his hand in paint. The guys and I helped decorate it early this morning," Donnie explained. "We would've gotten one of those fake Christmas trees, but Sensei ran out of time to find one, and Mikey was itching to decorate a tree, so, here it is."

"Little dude must be crazy excited about Christmas, then," Casey smiled.

"What, him singing 'Jingle Bells' at the top of his lungs didn't give it away?" Donnie chuckled, gesturing to the kitchen. Casey laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

April was floored.

Did _Donnie _just make a _joke _with _Casey_…?

She blinked.

Maybe Christmas Miracles _were_ real.

Suddenly, the turtle accused of singing burst from the kitchen, wooden spoon in hand, and, after he spotted Casey and April, his eyes lit up.

"I thought I heard you guys! Sorry, I know its last minute, but I _need_ this from the store!" Mikey explained quickly, shoving a piece of paper into April's hands. "_Okaythanksbye!_"

And just like that, Michelangelo bolted back into the kitchen.

"Um… Okay…?" April blinked again, and looked at the list Mikey had given her. "Huh; doesn't seem too hard. We'll be back in about a half hour, Donnie. Then we'll help with the lights."

"Oh, don't rush; Mikey needs time to catch his breath, anyways. I swear, that little bone-head's energy holds no bounds," Donnie said.

"You got that right," Raphael commented as he walked up to the group.

Casey suddenly snorted in laughter. "What's the matter, Raph? Got tired of people seeing your bald head?"

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Laugh all you want, Casey, but when Mikey finds out that you're obviously the only one without a Santa hat, he's gonna flip," He said, adjusting said accessory atop his head.

"You ought to pick one up while you and April run to the store," Donnie piped.

Casey shrugged, "Maybe."

"You guys are still here?!" Mikey called from the kitchen. "I need that stuff!"

"Alright, Alright! We're going!" Casey shouted back.

"_Thank_ you!" Mikey snapped in a higher tone.

"You're _welcome_!" Casey yelled louder.

"Oh, will you just come on?" April rolled her eyes and tugged Casey out of the lair.

* * *

><p>"I don't know about you, Red, but that Christmas tree painting-thing… it's kind of… sad, y'know…?" Casey said quietly as they roamed the aisles of the small grocery store.<p>

"Yeah… I was kind of thinking the same thing… I just wish…" April saw a nice box of strawberries, and, after making sure none of the fruits were bruised or rotten, placed them in her basket. "I just wish they didn't have to live in the sewers, away from the outside world…"

"I feel ya'," Casey replied, and a container of whipped cream caught his eye, and he grabbed it out of the built in fridge of the store and placed it into April's basket.

"I mean, what if they could go to school? Donnie would probably have already graduated, and I bet Mikey would probably be the captain of the track team. Leo could be class president, and Raph could…" April actually smirked to herself at this, "Raph could be the 'you mess with my bros, you mess with me,' type of guy."

Casey nodded and chuckled in response, and, after spotting the short-cake mix Mikey seemed to be in desperate need of, he snatched it off of the shelf, and placed it into April's basket.

"Well, that's the last of it," April double-checked the list to make sure, and quickly went to the check-out counter. As Casey trailed behind April, he paused when he passed a small section of Santa hats, and, for spite, grabbed the first one he saw.

* * *

><p>"For ninjas, they sure know how to make a lot of noise," Casey commented, and pulled out his phone to record the music currently drifting into the two human's ears.(AN: This is where the song at the top comes in...)

"_We are ninjas; _

_We are turtles; _

_We will save the day."_

A beat suddenly sounded past the entrance of the lair, and Casey and April had to smash themselves against the wall in order to not be seen. Casey started nodding his head to the beat.

_Boom-clap-boom-boom-clap. Boom-clap-boom-boom-clap._

"_We are someday gonna_

_Be the ones who lead the way._

_Singin' Whoa-oh-oh_

_Break out of your shell_

_And let's go-o-o._

_Break out of your shell and let's go."_

Suddenly, the other three turtles stopped singing to let just one turtle take home their own part of the song. First was Leo—

"_Risin' up like steam from a sewer cap,_"

Then Mikey joined in with:

"_So mean, so green—_"

While Raphael came in at a base note with:

"_You better watch your back._"

And then the three others again:

"—_slow and steady doesn't win the race._"

And Raph came in for the last line:

"_So quick, so slick;_

_The thrill of the chase_."

And then Leo again as the beat picked up;

"_The time has finally come for us to be the greatest_,"

And then Mikey started up again;

"'_Cause heroes aren't born; _

_They're created_."

And then all the turtles joined in again with words that almost made April want to laugh.

"_Before our day beings;_

_What every hero needs_

_Is a big o' greasy pi-iza._"

And then, _Donnie _started _rapping_.

"_Now gi'mme that extra large P;_

_Some pepperoni_

_With the parmesan cheese—anchovies;_

_Make a de-livery for everybody—_

_Come, we're _hungry—

_Hey, yeah, we're _hungry!

_Donatello needs a_

_Masterpiece of pizza._

_Fuelin' up the four;_

_Shredder tries to beat'cha_

_Splinter, teach us how to bring the thunder._"

And then came the best part.

"_Kow-a—_"

Mikey joined in with a note April didn't even know he possessed.

"—_bunga_-a-a_!_"

And then the chorus started right back up, with the only beat an echoed clap.

"_We are ninjas; _

_We are turtles; _

_We will save the day."_

"_Whoo!"_

"_We are someday gonna_

_Be the ones who lead the way._

_Singin' Whoa-oh-oh_

_Break out of your shell_

_And let's go-o-o!_

_Break out of your shell and let's go."_

And with that, the song was over, and all that was heard was the laughing of the four brothers.

"Mikey! That note, though!" Raphael called across the lair.

"Thank you, thank you!" Mikey laughed, "I've been working on it!"

Suddenly, Casey couldn't contain himself anymore. He burst out laughing, and April almost _felt _the eyes of the four turtles swinging towards the turnstiles. She tentatively stepped into view, and when she was met by four turtles standing right in front of the turnstiles with their arms crossed, she gave a nervous smile.

"Um… Cool song, guys…" She chuckled awkwardly.

"How much of it did you hear…?" Donnie asked.

"Well…"

"Enough to know that Mikey sings like a girl!" Casey exploded, and literally fell to the ground laughing.

"_Casey_!" April glared daggers at him.

Raphael immediately rounded on the teen. "Least he _can_ sing."

"You've never even heard me-"

"Go ahead; hit me with your best shot," Raphael growled.

Casey stopped laughing, and, after his self-conscious seemed to give him a knock on the head, he stood up.

"Did you just challenge me to a sing-off…?" Casey asked, cocking an eyebrow.

April gave herself a face-palm.

"_Raph could be the 'you mess with my bros, you mess with me,' type of guy." _

"Me and my big mouth…" She muttered.

"Uh, to be fair, Raph, Mikey _did _say that they could've walked in at any time with his ingredients," Leonardo placed a hand on Raphael's shoulder—a gentle way of saying 'calm the shell down.'

"Speaking of which," Mikey said, after he was sure the hard blush on his face had faded, "Did you get it?"

"Oh, yeah. Here," April said, handing him the plastic bag of goodies. When Mikey tried to hand her a twenty dollar-bill to pay for the goodies, she said, "No, it's Christmas. Consider this another present from me."

Mikey gave her a small smile and nodded, and took the grocery bag and headed to the kitchen.

"Go and apologize, Jones. Now," April snapped when he left.

Casey groaned and trudged into the kitchen.

"Uh… Hey, Mikey… I just wanted to say-"

"Its fine," Mikey interrupted, as he dug through the grocery bag, pulling out the contents that he needed. "Raph makes fun of me all the time; he's just in a better mood today. If you wanna help though, I need to get started on the Christmas Cake."

"Um… Okay, sure," Casey blinked, and walked deeper into the orange-clad turtle's domain.

Mikey smirked when he came across a Santa hat in the grocery bag. He tossed it to Casey and said, "I see Donnie got you to buy one. Sweet; now we all have one."

"Yeah…" Casey chuckled awkwardly and fit it onto his head. "That song was pretty cool, though. I think it deserves to be on T.V., or somethin'."

Mikey smiled, "Thanks. Now, I need you to cut the strawberries into thin slices. I'm gonna finish up with the casserole, and then we can both bust out the dining table."

"Whatever you say, little dude," Casey said, and picked up a small knife Mikey had supplied him.

* * *

><p>Mikey walked out of the kitchen with tray of cookies in his hand a huge grin on his face, and his older brothers, April, and Casey couldn't help but smile with him as he cleared his throat and announced:<p>

"Dinner," He paused for dramatic effect, "is served."

He took a bow, and led everyone into the dojo.

Master Splinter was already seated at the head of the long table set up in the dojo, looking tired, but happy, nonetheless. Everyone took their seat at the table, and April and Casey watched stupidly as the turtles and Splinter thanked Michelangelo for their dinner.

"_Itadakimasu_," They said in unison, dipping their heads respectively to Mikey.

Michelangelo grinned and replied, "_Iie_."

Donnie, who was seated beside April, gave her a glance, and gestured for her and Casey to do the same.

"Uh- Ita-daki-mast," April tried, and failed, to pronounce the foreign way of saying thanks. Casey's attempt to pronounce the word was horrible, too.

"_Iie_," Mikey chuckled, and took a seat at the table between his two oldest siblings.

"I didn't know you guys could speak Japanese," April commented.

"We were raised by a Japanese father, April," Leonardo smirked, "We're gonna pick up a few words here and there."

"Well, as much as I love chatting," Raphael interrupted, already reaching for the bowl of mashed potatoes, "I love hot food even more. Let's dig in!"

Everyone smiled and filled their plates with all that would fit on them: fried chicken and mashed potatoes; steamed rice and vegetables; dumplings and pizza gyoza; soup and salad; corn and—there was just _so much_ food!

"Wow, Mikey," Donatello mumbled around a mouthful of gyoza, "You-" He swallowed, "-really outdid yourself."

"Like a turtle do, D," Mikey smirked, waiting patiently with his head propped up on his hand for everyone to make their plates before he dug in.

* * *

><p>Once everyone had finished with the grand meal, Mikey quickly excused himself, and bounded off to fetch something. When he entered the dojo again, everyone's jaw <em>dropped<em>.

Mikey walked in with a three-layered cake in his hands. Whipped cream was smeared all over the cake for the icing, and strawberries lined the sides and top of the cake. Written on the top in the neatest handwriting Michelangelo could have mustered, were the words _Merry Christmas_.

"Mikey-"

"This is just-"

"_Wow_."

Mikey's grin was so big, April thought it might've actually been able to split his face in half.

Michelangelo placed the cake in the center of the table, and, after his blush faded away, asked, "Who's got room for dessert?"

* * *

><p>"Okay, this one's Raph's," Leo called, squinting his eyes to make out the rough handwriting on the oddly-wrapped present. The blue-clad turtle tossed Raphael the ball-shaped gift, and Raph couldn't help but smirk.<p>

"I needed a new ball to nail Mikey with in the head."

Casey couldn't help but give him a smug look.

Raphael tore the wrapping paper off of the gift. Blinking, he realized that there was way too much paper on the present. It was as if someone had just rolled the paper on it—around and around, like duct tape—until it made a sphere-like shape.

Once he finally got to the actual gift, his eyes widened.

"You guys…" Raph gaped, as he opened the lid to the box, and pulled out a pair of studded brass knuckles. "…are the _best_…!"

"See?" Casey smirked, poking April in the side with his elbow, "Misdirection."

April couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, next up is…" Leo read, "Donnie."

Donnie opened his gift to find a giant, purple fur coat just his size—well, his size, plus the bulge of his shell.

"Wow, April… Thanks!" Donnie smiled, admiring how soft the fabric of the coat was.

"Oh, here's yours, Master Splinter," Leonardo said, handing his father a small, wrapped rectangle.

"April, my student…" Splinter smiled weakly but softly. "Thank you." He gazed fondly down at the framed photo of himself and his sons.

"Aye-Aye," April said slowly.

The turtles corrected her; "_Iie_."

"What they said," April gestured to the four brothers and smiled.

"And now we have… me," Leo smiled, and opened his present to find a coat similar to Donnie's, but it was blue and had the words _Born to Lead _printed on the back.

"Hey, thanks, April," He grinned, and actually slipped the coat on. "It fits perfectly. Next up… we have… Mikey."

April gave Mikey a knowing smile as he excitedly opened his present. The orange-clad turtle froze when he found a book inside of the wrapping paper.

At first, Mikey's older brothers thought that he'd frozen in disappointment, but after he looked up from the cover of the book and crushed April in a bear-hug, the three older turtles couldn't help but smile.

"Wha'd'ja' get, Mike?" Raph asked.

"A cook book!" Mikey squealed, and did a fangirl-ish dance in place. "A real, live, in mint-condition _cook book_!"

"That's great, Mikey; now you can make a seven-course-meal every night," Raphael smirked.

Michelangelo turned excitedly to his father. "Can I, sensei?! Can I _please_?!"

"Perhaps," Splinter said, "_After_ you learn to clean the kitchen up once you have finished preparing a meal."

"Heh… Right," Mikey rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Leonardo suddenly walked up with two presents in hand. He gave them to Casey and April, who looked up in surprise.

"What, you didn't think we'd get you two something? After all you've done for us?" Donatello asked.

"Well- I-I mean…"

"Just tear 'em open," Raphael snapped, rolling his eyes playfully.

The two teenagers did, and, upon revealing their gifts, let their eyes widen to the size of dinner plates.

They each held a small picture book with the word _Memories_ printed on the front—pink for April, and Black for Casey. They flipped through the album, stopping occasionally when something interesting caught their eye.

"You guys…" April gaped, and her eyes started to grow misty.

"How did you guys even…" Casey started, and was unable to finish.

"We're ninjas, dude. All we needed was a no-flash camera," Mikey smirked.

The small photo album both teenagers held consisted of a photo of each adventure they'd had. It ranged from the battle with Snakeweed, to the most previous encounter they'd had with the Shredder.

"And the best part of it is-" Donnie said, flipping April's book to some of the last pages, which were, surprisingly, blank, "-there's room for more."

"_Donnie_—_guys_—this is…" April felt a lump form in her throat. She turned and wrapped Donatello into her arms, who gladly returned the hug.

April lifted her head from Donnie's plastron, and gazed at the small family gathered around her—a family she realized she truly was part of; a family that had changed her life forever; a family that loved her just as much as she loved them, even if she _was_ just dead-weight sometimes.

"Thank you… Thank you guys so much," April sniffled, and whipped her bright blue eyes.

"Ditto," Casey smiled.

"Dudes, thank _you_," Mikey beamed, "You gave us the best Christmas ever! You even got _Raph_ to lighten up."

"Har-dee-har, Mike."

Mikey's grin grew two sizes larger.

"More like _'ho-ho-ho'_."

It really was the best Christmas they'd ever had. They never needed the Christmas tree, or the presents, or even the superb dinner. All they'd wanted was each other.

And that's all they'd ever need.

_Fin_

* * *

><p><strong>Me: <strong>That's all, folks! Would you be a doll and give me a review for Christmas? Thanks! Merry Christmas! :D


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